Portable terminal

ABSTRACT

To improve usability while maintaining miniaturization, in a portable terminal device in which one end part of a first housing having an operating part and one end part of a second housing having a display part are turnably connected by a hinge part, an open state where the surface of the display part and the surface of the operating part are opened at a predetermined angle is formed by turning the first housing or the second housing by the hinge part from a close state where the first housing and the second housing are overlapped with each other and the operating part surface and the display part surface are facing to the same direction, and the hinge part has tilt angle changing means that is tiltably supported to the first housing or the second housing and can change the angle in the open state.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a portable terminal device, and moreparticularly, relates to the technical field of a portable terminaldevice in which a first housing having a microphone part and a secondhousing having a speaker part are connected via a hinge shaft in freelyturnable to the shaftwise direction of said hinge shaft.

BACKGROUND ART

Portable terminal devices, for example, portable wireless telephone setshave been popularized by the development of mobile telephone systems inrecent years. In portable wireless telephones sets, there is a type inwhich a first housing having a microphone part and a second housinghaving a speaker part are turnably connected via a hinge shaft, however,as such type of portable wireless telephone sets, some are designed sothat the first housing and the second housing are turnably connected tothe shaftwise direction of the hinge shaft, and the microphone part andthe speaker part face to the same direction in a close state where thesecond housing is lying on the first housing (for example, see patentdocument 1).

As shown in FIGS. 38 and 39, in such a conventional portable wirelesstelephone set “a”, a first housing “c” having a microphone part “b” anda second housing “e” having a speaker part “d” are turnably connectedvia a hinge shaft “f”, and if the second housing “e” is turned to thefirst housing “c” from the close state where the second housing “e” islying on the first housing “c” in the thickness direction (see FIG. 39),the portable wireless telephone set “a” becomes an open state (see FIG.38) and becomes available for communication.

In the portable wireless telephone set “a”, a main operating part “g”having plural operation keys is provided on the surface of the firsthousing “c” on the side that touches the second housing “e”, and adisplay part “h” and a suboperating part “i” are provided on theopposite side. In this manner, in the portable wireless telephone set“a”, since the suboperating part “i” is provided on the surface on theopposite side of the second housing “e” to the side that touches thefirst housing “c”, the user can perform predetermined operations byoperating the suboperating part “i” in both states of the open state andthe close state.

On the other hand, as a further developed device from the said portablewireless telephone set “a”, there is an open/close type portableinformation terminal designed so that the angle of a housing having anoperating part corresponding to the first housing “c” and a housinghaving a display part corresponding to the second housing “e” in thesaid open state becomes a predetermined angle θ; 180° or less (forexample, see patent document 2).

patent document 1: patent application publication, publication number07(1995)-288860

patent document 2: patent application publication, publication number2002-158758 (p. 3, FIGS. 2 and 6)

However, in the said portable wireless telephone-set “a” (patentdocument 1), in the open state, it becomes the state where the firsthousing “c” and the second housing “e” are connected in almost straightand the shape is not along the outline of the caller's face when thecaller performs communication; if the caller gets close to his/her mouthto the microphone part “b”, his/her ear gets away from the speaker part“d” (see FIG. 40), and reverse, if the caller gets close the ear to thespeaker part “d”, the microphone part “b” gets away from the mouth (seeFIG. 41): there is a problem that the usability is not good in bothcases.

Then, to improve the usability, it can be considered that as a portablewireless telephone set a′ shown in FIGS. 42 and 43, a projecting part“j” is provided by making the part having the microphone part “b” in thefirst housing “c” project, however, since the projecting-part “j” isprovided, the length of the first housing “c” becomes longer: it causesa problem that the portable wireless telephone set “a” becomes a largesize.

Note that, this large size problem similarly arises also in the casewhere the part having the speaker part “d” in the second housing “e” isprojected, without projecting the part having the microphone part “b” inthe first housing “c”.

Furthermore, to improve the usability, as a portable wireless telephoneset a″ shown in FIG. 44, it can be considered that the hinge shaft “f”is tilted to the first housing “c”, so that the second housing “e” tiltsto the first housing “c”, however, in this case, since the secondhousing “e” is tilted, it is necessary that the hinge shaft “f” islonger, and a large gap generates between the first housing “c” and thesecond housing “e”: the hinge shaft “f” is apt to get a large load, andthe whole of the portable wireless telephone set a″ becomes a largesize.

On the other hand, in the said open/close type portable informationterminal (patent document 2), the end part of the display part housinghaving the speaker and the end part of the operating part housing havingthe microphone are connected by a connecting member serving as a turningmechanism, and it is designed so that, in the state where the displaypart housing and the operating part housing are opened, they form apredetermined angle θ (180° or less), thereby, when the user performscommunication, user's ear and mouth get close to the speaker and themicrophone, respectively: the usability is improved.

However, although the open/close type portable information terminal isdesigned so that, in the state where the display part housing and theoperating part housing are opened, they form a predetermined angle θ(180° or less), also there is a problem that if force is applied to thedisplay part housing, the connecting member receives excessive load andis apt to be broken.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A portable terminal device according to the present invention aims tomaintain the miniaturization of the said portable terminal device, andto prevent breakage by a load.

To obviate the aforementioned problem, in a portable terminal device inwhich one end part of a first housing having an operating part and oneend part of a second housing having a display part are turnablyconnected by a hinge part, an open state where the surface of thedisplay part and the surface of the operating part are opened at apredetermined angle is formed by turning the first housing or the secondhousing by the hinge part from a close state where the first housing andthe second housing are overlapped with each other and the surface of theoperating part and the surface of the display part are facing to thesame direction, and the hinge part has tilt angle changing meanstiltably supported to the first housing or the second housing and canchange the angle in the open state.

Accordingly, in the portable terminal device according to the presentinvention, even if load is charged on the first housing and the secondhousing when the open state where the first housing and the secondhousing are mutually tilted via the hinge part is formed, the angleformed by the first housing and the second housing in the said openstate can be changed by the tilt angle changing means, thereby, thebreakage of the first housing and the second housing by the said loadcan be prevented, and a separation between the first housing and thesecond housing can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a state to show the concept of aportable terminal device.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the close state to show the conceptof the portable terminal device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram to show a first embodiment of a portable terminaldevice according to the present invention with FIGS. 4 to 24, and is aperspective view of a portable wireless telephone set in an open state.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the portable wireless telephone set inthe state where a second housing is being turned.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the portable wireless telephone set in aclose state.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the portable wireless telephone setin the open state.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of the portable wireless telephone setin the close state.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plane view of the first housing.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of the first housing, of which a part isshown in section.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged bottom view of the second housing.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged side view of the second housing, of which a partis shown in section.

FIG. 12 is an illustration showing the state where the portable wirelesstelephone set is being used.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual view showing the relations between the concavepart of the first housing and the projecting part of the second housing.

FIG. 14 is a diagram to show a turning supporting mechanism with FIGS.15 to 18, and is an enlarged perspective view.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged bottom view.

FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view showing the fitted state of theturning supporting mechanism.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged side view showing the state where the firsthousing and the second housing are connected.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged side view showing the state where force is beinggiven.

FIG. 19 is a diagram to show a modified example of the turningsupporting mechanism with FIGS. 20 and 21, and is an enlargedperspective view.

FIG. 20 is an enlarged perspective view from a different angle from FIG.19.

FIG. 21 is an enlarged side view.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing another turning supporting mechanism withFIGS. 23 and 24, and is an enlarged perspective view.

FIG. 23 is an enlarged side view showing the state where the firsthousing and the second housing are connected.

FIG. 24 is an enlarged side view showing the state where force is beinggiven.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of a portable terminaldevice according to the present invention with FIGS. 26 and 27, and is aperspective view of a portable wireless telephone set in an open state.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a part of theportable wireless telephone set in the open state from a different anglefrom FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a front view of the portable wireless telephone set in aclose state.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of a portable terminaldevice according to the present invention with FIGS. 29 to 33, and is aperspective view of a portable wireless telephone set in an open state.

FIG. 29 is an enlarged side view of the portable wireless telephone setin the open state.

FIG. 30 is an enlarged side view of the portable wireless telephone setin a close state.

FIG. 31 is an enlarged front view of the portable wireless telephone setin the close state.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing the modified example of the thirdembodiment of the portable terminal device according to the presentinvention with FIG. 33, and is a perspective view of a portable wirelesstelephone set in an open state.

FIG. 33 is an enlarged side view of the portable wireless telephone setin a close state.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of a portable terminaldevice according to the present invention with FIGS. 35 to 37, and is aperspective view of a portable wireless telephone set in an open state.

FIG. 35 is an enlarged side view of the portable wireless telephone setin the open state.

FIG. 36 is an enlarged side view of the portable wireless telephone setin a close state.

FIG. 37 is an enlarged front view of the portable wireless telephone setin the close state.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing a portable terminal device according to thepresent invention with FIG. 39, and is a perspective view in an openstate.

FIG. 39 is a perspective view showing a close state.

FIG. 40 is an illustration to show problems in the use of a conventionalportable wireless telephone set with FIG. 41, and is an illustrationshowing the state where the first housing has gotten apart from user'sear.

FIG. 41 is an illustration to show the state where the second housinghas gotten apart from user's mouth.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing another conventional portable wirelesstelephone set with FIG. 43, and is a perspective view showing an openstate.

FIG. 43 is a perspective view showing a close state.

FIG. 44 is a conceptual view showing one of conventional problems.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. Note that, each embodiment shownin below is that the present invention has been applied to a portablewireless telephone set.

First, the concept of the present invention will be described (see FIGS.1 and 2).

A portable wireless telephone set 1 is formed by that a first housing 2and a second housing 3 are connected via a hinge shaft 4 turnably to theshaftwise direction. In the first housing 2, at one end part of onesurface 2 a, a positional locating concave part 6 is formed, and at theother end part of one surface 2 a, a microphone part 5 is provided. Atthe other end part of one surface 3 a of the second housing 3, a speakerpart 7 is provided.

In the first housing 2 and the second housing 3, the respective one endparts are connected via the hinge shaft 4, and the said hinge shaft 4 isdesigned to be always tilted to the first housing 2.

When communication is not performed with the portable wireless telephoneset 1, one surface 2 a of the first housing 2 is covered with the secondhousing 3, and the portable wireless telephone set 1 is in a close state(see FIG. 2). In the close state, in the second housing 3, the othersurface 3 b that is the opposite surface to one surface 3 a contactswith or is closing to one surface 2 a of the first housing 2.

When communication is performed with the portable wireless telephone set1, the first housing 2 or the second housing 3 is turned to the secondhousing 3 or the first housing 2 to the shaftwise direction of the hingeshaft 4, and the portable wireless telephone set 1 is opened (see FIG.1). The second housing 3 is designed to be tiltable to the hinge shaft4, so that in the open state, one end part of the second housing 3 islocated on the locating concave part 6 of the first housing 2: thesecond housing 3 is tilted to the first housing 2.

Therefore, in the open state, a first connection line L1 connecting themicrophone part 5 of the first housing 2 with the hinge shaft 4 will beset to a predetermined angle θ less than 180° to a second connectionline L2 connecting the speaker part 7 of the second housing 3 with thehinge shaft 4 (see FIG. 1).

In this manner, in the open state, by tilting the second housing 3 tothe first housing 2 at the specified angle, the portable wirelesstelephone set 1 becomes the shape along the outline of the caller's facewhen the caller performs communication, and it can get the microphonepart 5 close to the caller's mouth and can get the speaker part 7 closeto the caller's ear: the usability in communication can be improved.

Moreover, it is unnecessary that the part having the microphone part 5in the first housing 2 or the part having the speaker part 7 in thesecond housing 3 is projected, and in the close state, one surface 2 aof the first housing 2 contacts with or is closing to the other surface3 b of the second housing 3: the miniaturization of the portablewireless telephone set 1 can be achieved.

Next, each suitable embodiment according to the present invention willbe described.

A first embodiment will be described (see FIGS. 3 to 24).

A portable wireless telephone set 10 is formed by that in the statewhere one end part of a first housing 11 and one end part of a secondhousing 12 are overlapped in the shaft direction of a hinge shaft 13,the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are mutually turnablyconnected via the said hinge shaft 13 (see FIGS. 3 to 7).

At one end part of one surface 11 a, a shallow concave part 15 in analmost spherical form is formed, and at the other end part on onesurface 11 a of the first housing 11, a microphone part 14 is provided.On one surface 11 a of the first housing 11, operation keys 16 s areregularly arranged, and a main operating part 17 is formed by the saidoperation keys 16 s.

On one surface 11 a of the first housing 11, projections 18 s areprovided at mutually separated positions.

One end part of the first housing 11 is formed as a slope 11 c so thatas a position gets apart from the microphone part 14, one surface 11 agets apart from the other surface 11 b being the opposite surface to onesurface 1 a (see FIGS. 6 to 9). The said concave part 15 is formed onthe slope 11 c.

On the slope 11 c of the first housing 11, a supporting hole 19 isformed (see FIG. 9).

On the other end part on one surface 12 a of the second housing 12, aspeaker part 20 is provided (see FIGS. 3 to 7, and 11). At one end partof one surface 12 a of the second housing 12, keys 21 s are arranged,and a suboperating part 22 is formed by the said keys 21 s. On onesurface 12 a of the second housing 12, a display part 23 being a liquidcrystal display is provided between the speaker part 20 and thesuboperating part 22.

At one end part of the other surface 12 b being the opposite surface toone surface 12 a of the second housing 12, a projecting part 24 in analmost peripheral form and slightly projected is provided.

One end part of the second housing 12 is formed as a slope 12 c so thatas a position gets apart from the speaker part 20, the other surface 12b gets close to one surface 12 a, and is formed in a tapered wedge form.

On the slope 12 c of the second housing 12, a supporting hole 25 isformed (see FIG. 11).

One end part of the first housing 11 and one end part of the secondhousing 12 are formed in almost hemispherical shapes, respectively (seeFIGS. 8 and 10).

The first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are connected via thehinge shaft 13 in the state where one end part of the said secondhousing 12 is overlapped with one end part of the first housing 11, andthe slope 11 c of the first housing 11 and the slope 12 c of the secondhousing 12 are close; for instance, about 1 [mm] of a gap M is formed(see FIG. 7). Accordingly, the second housing 12 is turned to the firsthousing 11 in the state where the projecting part 24 provided on thesecond housing 12 is close to the concave part 15 formed on the firsthousing 11.

The hinge shaft 13 is placed so as to extend to the almost verticaldirection to the slope 11 c on the first housing 11 and the slope 12 con the second housing 12 (see FIGS. 6 and 7).

When communication is not performed with the portable wireless telephoneset 10, one surface 11 a of the first housing 11 is covered with thesecond housing 12, and they are closed (see FIGS. 5 and 7). In the closestate, in the second housing 12, the other surface 12 b is placed on theprojections 18 s provided on the first housing 11, and the other surface12 b is slightly separate from one surface 11 a (see FIG. 7). Therefore,even if force toward the first housing 11 is applied to the secondhousing 12, the operation keys 16 s arranged on the first housing 11 arenot depressed by the first second housing 12: the operation of theoperation keys 16 s not intended by the user can be prevented.

In the said close state, the predetermined operation of the keys 21 sarranged on the second housing 12 can be performed while confirming adisplay on the display part 23.

When communication is performed with the portable wireless telephone set10, the first housing 11 or the second housing 12 is turned to theshaftwise direction of the hinge shaft 13 to the second housing 12 orthe first housing 11 (see FIG. 4), and the portable wireless telephoneset 10 is opened (see FIGS. 3 and 6).

Since the slope 11 c of the first housing 11 and the slope 12 c of thesecond housing 12 are close as described above, in the open state, thesecond housing 12 is tilted to the first housing 11 at a predeterminedangle, and a first connection line L1 connecting the microphone part 14of the first housing 11 with the hinge shaft 13 is set to apredetermined angle less than 180° to a second connection line L2connecting the speaker part 20 of the second housing 12 with the hingeshaft 13 (see FIG. 6). As the angle θ formed by the first housing 11 andthe second housing 12, 135° to 170° is desirable from the considerationof the shape along the outline of the caller's face when the callerperforms communication.

Note that, also in the aforementioned state, the predeterminedoperations of the keys 21 s arranged on the second housing 12 can beperformed.

In the open state, by tilting the second housing 12 to the first housing11 at the predetermined angle θ as the above, the portable wirelesstelephone set 10 becomes the shape along the outline of the caller'sface when the caller performs communication, and it can get themicrophone part 14 close to the caller's mouth and can get the speakerpart 20 to the caller's ear: the usability in communication can beimproved (see FIG. 12).

Moreover, it is unnecessary that the part having the microphone part 14in the first housing 11 or the part having the speaker part 20 in thesecond housing 12 is projected, and in the close state, one surface 11 aof the first housing 11 is closing to the other surface 12 b of thesecond housing 12: the miniaturization of the portable wirelesstelephone set 10 can be achieved.

Furthermore, in the portable wireless telephone set 10, since the otherend part of the second housing 12 is formed in a tapered wedge shape, inthe open state, there is no bump between one surface 11 a of the firsthousing 11 and one surface 12 a of the second housing 12 (see an arrow Sin FIG. 6), so that the keys 21 s can be operated in the state where thecaller holds the first housing 11, by slipping the finger of the saidholding hand from one surface 2 a to one surface 3 a: the operabilitycan be improved.

When the first housing 11 or the second housing 12 is turned to thesecond housing 12 or the first housing 11, the second housing 12 isturned to the first housing 11 between the open state where the secondhousing 12 is tilted to the first housing 11 and the close state wherethe second housing 12 is horizontally overlapped with the first housing11. Therefore, the second housing 12 is turned in the state where it istilted to the first housing 11, thereby, if the moving locus Qm of apoint Q where the distance is the maximum in a distance from a turningfulcrum P to the slope 12 c of the second housing 12 (see FIG. 13) fallson the horizontal plane of one surface 11 a of the first housing 11, thefirst housing 11 interferes with the second housing 12, and it cannot beturned.

Then, in the portable wireless telephone set 10, the concave part 15 isformed at one end part of the first housing 11, and the projecting part24 is provided at one end part of the second housing 12, to prevent theinterference between the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 inturning. By the prevention of the interference between the first housing11 and the second housing 12, smooth turning operation between both canbe maintained.

Furthermore, to avoid the interference between the first housing 11 andthe second housing 12, in the close state, it is unnecessary to placethe first housing 11 and the second housing 12 in the state where onesurface 11 a and the other surface 12 b are widely separate: it can getthe portable wireless telephone set 10 thinner.

Note that, it has shown the example that the concave part 15 is formedin the first housing 11 and the projecting part 24 is provided in thesecond housing 12 in the above, however, conversely, also it is possibleto provide a projection part in the first housing 11 and form a concavepart in the second housing 12 so as to prevent the interference betweenthe first housing 11 and the second housing 12 in turning.

Furthermore, it has shown the example that the projections 18 s areprovided in the first housing 11 in the above, however, if it isdesigned so that the surfaces of the operation keys 16 s being the mainoperating part 17 are placed on the same plane as one surface 11 a whenthe operation keys 16 s are not operated, the projections 18 sespecially may not be provided. In this case, a gap between one surface11 a of the first housing 11 and the other surface 12 b of the secondhousing 12 in the close state can be omitted: the portable wirelesstelephone set 10 can be further miniaturized and can be got thinner.

Next, a turning supporting mechanism 26 having the said hinge shaft 13will be described (see FIGS. 14 to 18).

The turning supporting mechanism 26 is composed of a tilt angle changingmember 27 to be fitted to the first housing 11, and the hinge shaft 13to be fitted to the second housing 12 and freely turnably supported bythe tilt angle changing member 27.

The tilt angle changing member 27 is formed by machining a springyplanar metallic material, and a base part 28, fitting pieces 29 s and asupporting piece 30 are formed in one body. The base part 28 is bent atthe almost same angle as the said tilt angle θ formed by the firsthousing 11 and the second housing 12; the fitting pieces 29 s areprojected from the positions separate from the edges of one end of thebase part 28 in the width direction; and the supporting piece 30 isprojected to the same side as the fitted pieces 29 s from the centerpart of the edges of the other end of the base part 28 in the widthdirection. In the fitting pieces 29 s, a screw inserting-hole “29 a” isformed, respectively. In the supporting piece 30, a shaft inserting holenot shown is formed.

The hinge shaft 13 is composed of a shaft part 31 and a planar fittingpiece 32 provided at one end part of the said shaft part 31. At theother end part of the shaft part 31, a coming-out preventing projectingpart 31 a projected from its outer circumference side is provided. Inthe fitting piece 32, screw inserting holes “32 a”s are formed at theboth end parts.

The hinge shaft 13 is freely turnably supported to the tilt anglechanging member 27 by that the shaft part 31 is inserted into the shaftinserting hole of the supporting piece 30 of the tilt angle changingmember 27.

The fitting pieces 29 s of the tilt angle changing member 27 are fittedon the first housing 11. The fitting pieces 29 s are fitted on the firsthousing 11 by inserting fitting screws not shown into the screwinserting holes “29 a”s and screwing them on the first housing 11.

To put it concretely, as shown in FIG. 16, in the first housing 11, afirst boss 11P is provided on the opposite inner circumference side tothe slope 11 c in the state where a female screw is formed in itsinside, and also a second boss 11Q having the same central axis as thecentral axis of the said first boss 11P is provided on the innercircumference side of the other surface 11 b.

In the state where a metallic plate 11S previously fitted on the firsthousing 11 is inserted between these first boss 11P and second boss 11Q,a fitting screw 11R is inserted into the inserting hole of the saidsecond boss 11Q, the through hole of the plate 11S and the screwinserting holes “29 a”s of the fitted pieces 29 s: the fitting pieces 29s of the tilt angle changing member 27 are screwed to the first boss 11Pby the said fitting screw 11R.

Thereby, in the tilt angle changing member 27 of the turning supportingmechanism 26, the fitting pieces 29 s are fixed to the first housing 11in one body by that the said fitting pieces 29 s are screwed and fixedto the first housing 11 via the plate 11S, and on the other hand, thesupporting piece 30 becomes the state where it only abuts on theopposite surface of the first housing 11 to the slope 11 c.

Note that, by fitting the fitting pieces 29 s of the tilt angle changingmember 27 into the first housing 11 via the metallic plate 11S, theintensity of the first housing 11 can be increased, and even if someload is charged on the said first housing 11 from the outside, breakagecan be prevented.

The fitting piece 32 of the hinge shaft 13 is fitted into the secondhousing 12. The fitting piece 32 is fitted on the second housing 12 byinserting fitting screws not shown into screw inserting holes “32 a”sand screwing the fitting piece 32 onto the second housing 12.

In this manner, by fitting the tilt angle changing member 27 into thefirst housing 11, the hinge shaft 13, and the second housing 12, thefirst housing 11 and the second housing 12 are turnably connected (seeFIG. 17): the portable wireless telephone set 10 is formed.

In the state where the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 areconnected, there is a case where force is applied to one or both of thefirst housing 11 and second housing 12. At this time, the tilt anglechanging member 27 elastically changes the shape (see FIG. 18).Accordingly, when force is applied to one or both of the first housing11 and the second housing 12, the breakage of the first housing 11 andthe second housing 12 can be prevented, and a separation between thefirst housing 11 and the second housing 12 can be prevented.

That is, if force shown by an arrow (FIG. 18) is applied to the firsthousing 11, since the fitting pieces 29 s of the tilt angle changingmember 27 are fixed to the first housing 11, the supporting piece 30 ofthe tilt angle changing member 27 elastically changes the shape in thesame direction as the direction that force is being applied: a gapgenerates between the slope 11 c of the first housing 11 and thesupporting piece 30 of the tilt angle changing member 27.

If the force applied to either or both of the first housing 11 and thesecond housing 12 is removed, the tilt angle changing member 27elastically returns to the normal shape, and the first housing 11 andthe second housing 12 return to the original tilt angle.

Note that, both of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 aredesigned to be elastically changeable the shape within the elasticity ofthe forming material; they can change the shape about 10° on the basisof the tilt angle θ. Accordingly, the second housing 12 can elasticallychange the shape to the maximum about 170° to the first housing 11, byadding the said elastic change of the tilt angle changing member 27.

Next, a turning supporting mechanism 26A that is a modified example ofthe turning supporting mechanism 26 will be described (see FIG. 19and/or 21). Note that, in the turning supporting mechanism 26A describedbelow, because a different point from the said turning supportingmechanism 26 is only that a stopper inserting hole is formed in astopper projecting piece and a tilt angle changing member, only thedifferent parts from the turning supporting mechanism 26 will bedescribed in detail, and the description of the other part will beomitted by adding the same reference numerals as the reference numeralsadded to the same part in the turning supporting mechanism 26.

The turning supporting mechanism 26A is composed of a tilt anglechanging member 27A to be fitted on the first housing 11, and the hingeshaft 13 to be fitted on the second housing 12 and freely turnablysupported by the tilt angle changing member 27A.

At one of the fitting pieces 29 s of the tilt angle changing member 27A,a stopper inserting hole 29 b is formed. From the base part 28 of thetilt angle changing member 27A, a stopper projecting piece 33 that hasbeen inserted into the stopper inserting hole 29 b is projected. Thestopper projecting piece 33 is composed of a projecting part 33 a and ahook part 33 b; it is formed by that the projecting part 33 a isprojected to an almost orthogonal direction to the base part 28, and thehook part 33 b is bent to an almost orthogonal direction to theprojecting part 33 a.

Also in the case where the turning supporting mechanism 26A is usedinstead of the turning supporting mechanism 26, similarly to the turningsupporting mechanism 26, when force is applied to either or both of thefirst housing 11 and the second housing 12, the breakage of the firsthousing 11 and the second housing 12 can be prevented, and a separationbetween the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 can be prevented.

Furthermore, in the turning supporting mechanism 26A, by hooking thehook part 33 b of the stopper projecting piece 33 on the opening edge ofthe stopper inserting hole 29 b of the fitting piece 29, an angle formedby the fitting pieces 29 s to be fitted on the first housing 11 and thefitting piece 32 to be fitted on the second housing 12 does not change:in the state where force is not applied to the first housing 11 or thesecond housing 12, the tilt angle θ formed by the first housing 11 andthe second housing 12 can be constantly kept.

Next, a turning supporting mechanism 34 having the said hinge shaft 13will be described (see FIGS. 22 to 24).

The turning supporting mechanism 34 is composed of a tilt angle changingmember 35 to be freely turnably supported by the first housing 11, andthe hinge shaft 13 to be fitted on the second housing 12 and freelyturnably supported by the tilt angle changing member 35.

The tilt angle changing member 35 is formed by machining a planarmetallic material, and a base part 36, supporting parts 37 s, and springsupporting pieces 38 s are formed in one body. The base part 36 has analmost rectangular shape, and a shaft inserting hole not shown is formedat the center part. The supporting parts 37 s are provided so as toproject to the same orthogonal direction from the both end parts of thebase part 36 in the longitudinal direction, and supporting holes “37 a”sare formed respectively.

The spring supporting pieces 38 s are provided so as to project to thesame direction from the both edges of the center part of the base part36 in the longitudinal direction, respectively. The spring supportingpieces 38 s are composed of projecting piece parts “38 a”s which projectto the orthogonal direction from the base part 36 respectively, andspring supporting parts “38 b”s orthogonal to the said projecting pieceparts “38 a”s; the said spring supporting parts “38 b”s are located inparallel to the base part 36.

The hinge shaft 13 is composed of the shaft part 31, and the planarfitting piece 32 provided at the other end part of the said shaft part31. At one end part of the shaft part 31, a coming-out preventingprojecting part 31 a which projects from its outer circumference surfaceis provided. In the fitting piece 32, the screw inserting holes “32 a”sare formed at the both side parts.

With respect to the hinge shaft 13, the shaft part 31 is inserted intothe shaft inserting hole of the base part 36 of the tilt angle changingmember 35, and it is freely turnably supported by the tilt anglechanging member 35.

The supporting holes “37 a”s of the supporting parts 37 s are supportedby supporting shafts 39 s. Therefore, the turning supporting mechanism34 is turnable to the first housing 11 to the shaftwise direction of thesupporting shafts 39 s fixed in the first housing 11.

Between the spring supporting parts “38 b”s of the spring supportingpieces 38 s and one surface 11 a of the first housing 11, compressioncoil springs 40 s (FIG. 23) are contractedly provided, respectively.

The fitting piece 32 of the hinge shaft 13 is fitted on the secondhousing 12. The fitting piece 32 is fitted on the second housing 12 byinserting fitting screws not shown into the screw inserting holes “32a”s and screwing the fitting piece 32 to the second housing 12.

In this manner, by supporting the supporting parts 37 s by thesupporting shaft and fitting the hinge shaft 13 on the second housing12, the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are turnablyconnected (see FIG. 23): and the portable wireless telephone set 10 isformed.

In the state where the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 areconnected, if force is applied to either or both of the first housing 11and the second housing 12, the tilt angle changing member 35 and thehinge shaft 13 are turned to the supporting shafts 39 s (FIG. 22) in onebody: one compression coil spring 40 is compressed, and the othercompression coil spring 40 is stretched (see FIG. 24).

Also in the case where the turning supporting mechanism 34 is usedinstead of the turning supporting mechanism 26, similarly to the turningsupporting mechanism 26, when force is applied to either or both of thefirst housing 11 and the second housing 12, the breakage of the firsthousing 11 and the second housing 12 can be prevented, and a separationbetween the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 can be prevented.

If the force being applied to either or both of the first housing 11 andthe second housing 12 is removed, the compression coil springs 40 selastically return to the normal shape, and the first housing 11 and thesecond housing 12 return to the original tilt angle.

Next, a second embodiment will be described (see FIGS. 25 to 27).

Note that, in a portable wireless telephone set 10A described below,because different parts from the said portable wireless telephone set 10are only that a concave part formed in the first housing and aprojecting part formed in the second housing, only the different partsfrom the portable wireless telephone set 10 will be described in detail,and the description of the other part will be omitted by adding the samereference numerals as the reference numerals added to the same parts inthe portable wireless telephone set 10.

The portable wireless telephone set 10A is formed, in the state whereone end part of a first housing 11A and one end part of a second housing12A are mutually overlapped in the shaft direction of the hinge shaft13, by that the first housing 11A and the second housing 12A aremutually turnably connected via the said hinge shaft 13 (see FIGS. 25and 26).

At a part other than one end part of one surface 11 a of the firsthousing 11A, that is, a part other than the slope 11 c, a shallowconcave part 41 in an almost spherical form is formed. Therefore, theoperation keys 16 s and projections 18 s are provided on the concavepart 41. The slope 11 c is formed in a plane.

At a part other than one end part of the other surface 12 b of thesecond housing 12A, that is, a part other than the slope 12 c, aprojecting part 42 in an almost peripheral shape and slightly projectedis provided. The slope 12 c is formed in a plane.

In an open state, the second housing 12A is tilted to the first housing11A at a predetermined angle less than 180° (see FIGS. 25 and 26).Therefore, by tilting the second housing 12A to the first housing 11A atthe predetermined angle, the portable wireless telephone set 10A becomesthe shape along the outline of the caller's face when the callerperforms communication, and it can get the microphone part 14 close tothe caller's mouth, and can get the speaker part 20 close to thecaller's ear: the usability in communication can be improved.

In the open state, if the first housing 11A is turned to the secondhousing 12A at 180° or the second housing 12A is turned to the firsthousing 11A at 180°, the portable wireless telephone set 10A becomes aclose state. At this time, since the concave part 41 is formed at thepart other than one end part of one surface 11 a of the first housing11A and the projecting part 42 is provided at the part other than oneend part of the other surface 12 b of the second housing 12A asdescribed above, it is unnecessary to prepare a large gap in the closestate between the first housing 11A and the second housing 12A toprevent the interference between both of the first housing 11A and thesecond housing 12A in turning: the first housing 11A and the secondhousing 12A can be placed to close positions in the close state (seeFIG. 27). Accordingly, the portable wireless telephone set 10A can beminiaturized and can be got thinner.

Note that, it has shown the example that the projections 18 s areprovided in the first housing 11A in the above, however, if it isdesigned so that the surfaces of the operation keys 16 s being the mainoperating part 17 are placed on the same plane as one surface 11 a inthe state where the operation keys 16 s are not operated, theprojections 18 s may not be especially provided. In this case, a gapbetween one surface 11 a of the first housing 11A and the other surface12 b of the second housing 12A in the close state can be omitted: theportable wireless telephone set 10A can be further miniaturized and canbe got thinner.

Next, a third embodiment will be described (see FIGS. 28 to 33).

Note that, in a portable wireless telephone set 10B described below,because different parts from the portable wireless telephone set 10 inthe aforementioned first embodiment are only that a concave part formedin the first housing and a projecting part is not formed in the secondhousing, only the different parts from the portable wireless telephoneset 10 will be described in detail, and the description of the otherpart will be omitted by adding the same reference numerals as thereference numerals added to the same parts in the portable wirelesstelephone set 10.

The portable wireless telephone set 10B is formed, in the state whereone end part of a first housing 11B and one end part of a second housing12B are mutually overlapped in the shaft direction of the hinge shaft13, by that the first housing 11B and the second housing 12B aremutually turnably connected via the said hinge shaft 13 (see FIGS. 28 to30).

On one surface 11 a of the first housing 11B, both of the slope 11 c andthe part other than the slope 11 c are formed in planes. On the bothedges in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of onesurface 11 a, receiving projecting parts 43 s are separately providedtwo by two in the longitudinal direction of the first housing 11B,respectively. The receiving projecting parts 43 s are designed so thatthe tip part is formed in, for example, an almost hemispherical shapeand the projection amount from one surface 11 a is larger than the saidprojections 18 s provided in the first housing 11 and the first housing11A.

By providing the receiving projecting parts 43 s in the first housing11B, a first one surface 11 a is formed as a concave part 44.

On the other surface 12 b of the second housing 12B, both of the slope12 c and the part other than the slope 12 c are formed in planes.

In an open state, the second housing 12B is tilted to the first housing11B at a predetermined angle less than 180° (see FIGS. 28 and 29).Therefore, by tilting the second housing 12B to the first housing 11B atthe predetermined angle, the portable wireless telephone set 10B becomesthe shape along the outline of the caller's face when the callerperforms communication, and it can get the microphone part 14 close tothe caller's mouth and can get the speaker part 20 close to the caller'sear: the usability in communication can be improved.

In the open state, if the first housing 11B is turned to the secondhousing 12B at 180° or the second housing 12B is turned to the firsthousing 11B at 180°, the portable wireless telephone set 10B becomes aclose state (see FIGS. 30 and 31). In this close state, the secondhousing 12B is placed on the receiving projecting parts 43 s. In theclose state, a gap 45 is formed between one surface 11 a of the firsthousing 11B and the other surface 12 b of the second housing 12B,therefore, when the first housing 11B or the second housing 12B isturned, both do not interfere: a smooth turning operation can bemaintained.

In the portable wireless telephone set 10B, since the gap 45 for aprojection amount of the receiving projecting parts 43 s from the onesurface 11 a is formed in the close state, the operation keys 16 s canbe projected from the first surface 11 a within this gap 45: theoperability of the operation keys 16 s can be improved.

Moreover, by providing the receiving projecting parts 43 s, even ifforce toward the first housing 11B side is applied to the second housing12B, displacement of the second housing 12B to the first housing 11Bside is controlled by the receiving projecting parts 43 s: theoperations of the operation keys 16 s not intended by the operator canbe prevented.

Furthermore, since the tip part of the receiving projecting parts 43 sare formed in an almost hemispherical shape, when the first housing 11Bor the second housing 12B is turned from the open state to the closestate, a contacting area of the other surface 12 b of the second housing12B and the receiving projecting parts 43 s is small; therefore, smoothturning operations can be maintained.

Note that, the example of that the receiving projecting parts 43 s areprovided two by two on the both edges of one surface 11 a of the firsthousing 11B respectively, has shown in the above, however, the number ofthe receiving projecting parts 43 s is not only limited to this, it isgood if only the receiving projecting parts 43 s are provided at leastone by one on the both edges of one surface 11 a.

Next, a modified example in the third embodiment will be described (seeFIGS. 32 and 33).

Note that, in a portable wireless telephone set 10C described below,because a different point from the said portable wireless telephone set10B is only that the positions of the receiving projecting parts 43 aredifferent, only the different part from the portable wireless telephoneset 10B will be described in detail, and the description of the otherpart will be omitted by adding the same reference numerals as thereference numerals added to the same part in the portable wirelesstelephone set 10B.

The portable wireless telephone set 10C is formed, in the state whereone end part of a first housing 11C and one end part of a second housing12C are mutually overlapped in the shaft direction of the hinge shaft13, by that the first housing 11C and the second housing 12C aremutually turnably connected via the said hinge shaft 13 (see FIGS. 32and 33).

On one surface 11 a of the first housing 11C, both of the slope 11 c andthe part other than the slope 11 c are formed in planes. On the edge ofone end of one surface 11 a in the longitudinal direction, that is, onthe edge of the opposite end to the slope 11 c, a receiving projectingpart 46 is provided at the center part. Therefore, the microphone part14 is formed in the receiving projecting part 46.

For instance, in the receiving projecting part 46, a surface that facesthe second housing 12C in a close state is formed in a plane. Thereceiving projecting part 46 is designed so that the projection amountfrom one surface 11 a is larger than the said projections 18 s providedin the first housing 11 (FIG. 3) and the first housing 11A (FIG. 25).

In the first housing 11C, by providing the receiving projecting part 46,the first housing 11 a is formed as a concave part 47.

On the other surface 12 b of the second housing 12C, both of the slope12 c and the part other than the slope 12 c are formed in planes.

In an open state, if the first housing 11C is turned to the secondhousing 12C at 180° or the second housing 12C is turned to the firsthousing 11C at 180°, the portable wireless telephone set 10C becomes theclose state (see FIG. 33). In this close state, the second housing 12Cis placed on the receiving projecting part 46. In the close state, a gap46 is formed between one surface 11 a of the first housing 11C and theother surface 12 b of the second housing 12C, therefore, when the firsthousing 11C or the second housing 12C is turned, both do not interfere:a smooth turning operation can be maintained.

In a portable wireless telephone set 10C, in the close state, since agap 48 for the projection amount that the receiving projecting part 46is projected from the first surface 11 a is formed, the operation keys16 s can be projected from the first surface 11 a within this gap 48:the operability of the operation keys 16 s can be improved.

Moreover, by providing the receiving projecting part 46, even if forcetoward the first housing 11C side is applied to the second housing 12C,displacement of the second housing 12C to the first housing 11C side iscontrolled by the receiving projecting part 46: the operations of theoperation keys 16 s not intended by the operator can be prevented.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described (see FIGS. 34 to 37).

Note that, because a portable wireless telephone set 10D is differentfrom the portable wireless telephone set 10 in the aforementioned firstembodiment in that the part of the concave part of the first housing isdifferent and receiving projecting parts are provided, only thedifferent parts from the portable wireless telephone set 10 will bedescribed in detail, and the description of the other part will beomitted by adding the same reference numerals as the reference numeralsadded to the same part in the portable wireless telephone set 10.

The portable wireless telephone set 10D is formed, in the state whereone end part of a first housing 11D and one end part of a second housing12D are mutually overlapped in the shaft direction of the hinge shaft13, by that the first housing 11D and the second housing 12D aremutually turnably connected via the said hinge shaft 13 (see FIGS. 34 to36).

On one surface 11 a of the first housing 11D, both of the slope 11 c andthe part other than the slope 11 c are formed in planes. On the bothsides of the edges of one surface 11 a in the direction orthogonal tothe longitudinal direction of one surface 11 a, receiving projectingparts 49 s are separately provided in the longitudinal direction of thefirst housing 11D respectively so as to extend in the said longitudinaldirection. In the receiving projecting parts 49 s, for instance,projecting parts “49 a”s of which the sides facing to the second housing12D in a close state are almost in spheres, are formed. The receivingprojecting parts 49 s are designed so that the projection amount fromone surface 11 a is larger than the said projections 18 s provided inthe first housing 11 (FIG. 3) and the first housing 11A (FIG. 25).

In the first housing 11D, by providing the receiving projecting parts 49s, the one surface 11 a is formed as a concave part 50.

At a part other than the slope 12 c on the other surface 12 b of thesecond housing 12D, a projecting part 51 that is almost in a sphericalshape and slightly projects is provided. The slope 12 c is formed in aplane.

In an open state, the second housing 12D is tilted to the first housing11D at a predetermined angle less than 180° (see FIGS. 34 and 35).Therefore, by tilting the second housing 12D to the first housing 11D atthe predetermined angle, the portable wireless telephone set 10D becomesthe shape along the outline of the caller's face when the callerperforms communication, and it can get the microphone part 14 close tothe caller's mouth and can get the speaker part 20 close to the caller'sear: the usability in communication can be improved.

In the open state, if the first housing 11D is turned to the secondhousing 12D at 180° or the second housing 12D is turned to the firsthousing 11D at 180°, the portable wireless telephone set 10D becomes aclose state (see FIGS. 36 and 37). At this time, since the concave parts49 s are formed on the receiving projecting parts 49 s provided in thefirst housing 11D, and the projecting part 51 is provided at the partother than one end part of the other surface 12 b of the second housing12D as described above, it is unnecessary to prepare a large gap betweenthe first housing 11D and the second housing 12D to prevent theinterference between them when the first housing 11D or the secondhousing 12D is turned: the first housing 11D and the second housing 12Dcan be placed at close positions in the close state (see FIG. 37).Accordingly, the portable wireless telephone set 10D can be miniaturizedand can be got thinner.

Moreover, since the receiving projecting parts 49 s are provided in thefirst housing 11D, even if force toward the first housing 11D side isapplied to the second housing 12D, displacement of the second housing12D to the first housing 11D side is controlled by the receivingprojecting parts 49 s: the operations of the operation keys 16 s notintended by the operator can be prevented.

Note that, the example of that the receiving projecting parts 49 s areprovided on the both sides of the edges of one surface 11 a of the firsthousing 11D respectively, has shown in the above, however, in additionto this, also the receiving projecting part 49 may be provided on theedge of the end of the first housing 11D in the longitudinal direction.

In the aforementioned third and fourth embodiments, the receivingprojecting parts 43 s of which the tip part is formed in an almosthemispherical shape, the receiving projecting part 46 of which the topsurface is formed in a plane, and the receiving projecting parts 49 s ofwhich the top surface is formed in an almost spherical shape have beenexemplified, however, these shapes of each receiving projecting part arenot only limited to them but also it can be properly changed to aconcave shape such as an almost sphere, a plane, and a projecting almostsphere.

Furthermore, the examples of that the respective concave parts 15, 41 ofthe first housings 11, 11A and the respective projecting parts 24, 42,51 of the second housings 12, 12A, 12D are formed in almost spheres haveshown in the above, however, for instance, also they can be formed in ashape similar to the circumferential surface of a cone.

Also the concave parts 49 a of the receiving projecting part 49 providedin the second housing 12D may be formed, for example, in a shape similarto the circumferential surface of a cone.

Additionally, also in the portable wireless telephone sets 10A, 10B,10C, 10D in the aforementioned first embodiment to the fourthembodiments, one of the turning supporting mechanisms 26, 26A, 34described in the first embodiment can be used.

Both of the concrete shape and configuration of each part shown in theaforementioned embodiments are only examples of the embodimentsaccording to the present invention, and they should not be limitedlyconstrued as the technical scope of the present invention.

As it is obvious from the above description, the portable terminaldevice according to the present invention is characterized in that, in aportable terminal device in which one end part of a first housing havingan operating part and one end part of a second housing having a displaypart are turnably connected by a hinge part, the first housing or thesecond housing is turned by the hinge part from a close state where thefirst housing and the second housing are overlapped with each other andthe surface having the operating part and the surface having the displaypart are facing to the same direction, and an open state where thedisplay part surface and the operating part surface are opened at apredetermined angle is formed, and the hinge part has tilt anglechanging means that is tiltably supported by the first housing or thesecond housing and can change the angle in the open state.

Therefore, in the state where the open state that the first housing andthe second housing mutually are tilted via the hinge part is formed,even if load is charged on the first housing and the second housing, theangle formed by the first housing and the second housing in the saidopen state can be changed by the tilt angle changing means, thereby, thebreakage of the first housing and the second housing by the said loadcan be prevented, and a separation between the first housing 11 and thesecond housing 12 can be prevented.

In the invention according to claim 2, a suboperating part having apredetermined key is provided on the same surface as the display partsurface, so that in both of the open state and the close state, the usercan perform a predetermined operation via the operating part or thesuboperating part while confirming the display on the display part.

In the invention according to claim 3, the second housing is formed sothat one end part has a speaker part and the other end part becomesthinner as the position is further from the speaker part, thereby, inthe open state, there is no gap between the first housing and the secondhousing, thereby, the user can operate the operating part provided onthe second housing by slipping the finger of the hand holding the firsthousing from the first housing to the second housing: the operabilitycan be improved.

In the invention according to claim 4, the angle formed by the displaypart surface and the operating part surface in the open state isdesigned to be less than 180°; thereby, in the open state, the portablewireless telephone set becomes the shape along the outline of thecaller's face when the caller performs communication, and it can get themicrophone part close to the caller's mouth and can get the speaker partclose to the caller's ear: the usability in communication can beimproved.

In the invention according to claim 5, since a concave part opened tothe second housing side in the close state is formed at least at a partof the operating part surface of the first housing, in the case whereoperation keys are arranged on the said concave part, it is unnecessaryto prepare a large gap between the first housing and the second housingin the close state; therefore, a portable terminal device can beminiaturized.

In the invention according to claim 6, since a concave part in an almostspherical shape is formed at one end part of the first housing, and aprojecting part in an almost spherical shape facing to the concave partin the close state is provided at one end part of the second housing,when the first housing or the second housing is turned to the secondhousing or the first housing, the interference between the first housingand the second housing can be prevented: smooth turning operationbetween both can be maintained.

Moreover, it is unnecessary to place both widely apart for the purposeof the prevention of the interference between the first housing and thesecond housing: a portable terminal device can be miniaturized.

In the invention according to claim 7, a concave part in an almostspherical shape is formed at a part other than one end part of the firsthousing, and a projecting part in an almost spherical shape facing tothe concave part in the close state is provided at a part other than oneend part of the second housing, so that when the first housing or thesecond housing is turned to the second housing or the first housing, theinterference between the first housing and the second housing can beprevented: smooth turning operation between both can be maintained.

Moreover, it is unnecessary to place both widely apart for the purposeof the prevention of the interference between the first housing and thesecond housing: a portable terminal device can be miniaturized.

In the invention according to claim 8, at least at a part of the outercircumferential edge of the operating part surface of the first housing,a receiving projecting part which is projecting to the second housingside and is abutted on or is close to the said second housing in theclose state is provided, thereby, even if force toward the first housingside is applied to the second housing in the close state, the operationkeys arranged on the first housing are not depressed by the firsthousing: the operations of the operation keys not intended by the usercan be prevented.

In the invention according to claim 9, receiving projecting parts areprovided at the end parts of the both sides of the first housing,thereby, even if force toward the first housing side is applied to thesecond housing in the close state, especially, a tilt of the secondhousing to the first housing in the direction connecting the end partsof the both sides can be prevented.

In the invention according to claim 10, a receiving projecting part isprovided at the edge part of the other end part of the first housing,thereby, even if force toward the first housing side is applied to thesecond housing in the close state, especially, a tilt of the secondhousing to the first housing in the direction connecting one end partand the other end part of the first housing can be prevented.

Furthermore, the number of the receiving projecting parts can bereduced.

In the invention according to claim 11, a concave part of which thesurface facing to the second housing in the close state is in an almostspherical shape is formed in a receiving projecting part, and aprojecting part in an almost spherical shape that faces to the concavepart in the close state is provided in the second housing, thereby, whenthe first housing or the second housing is turned to the second housingor the first housing, the interference between the first housing and thesecond housing can be prevented: smooth turning operation between bothcan be maintained.

Moreover, it is unnecessary to place both widely apart for the purposeof the prevention of the interference between the first housing and thesecond housing: a portable terminal device can be miniaturized.

In the invention according to claim 12, the end part of the receivingprojecting part on the side that faces to the second housing in theclose state is formed in an almost hemispherical shape, thereby, whenthe first housing or the second housing is turned from the open state tothe close state, a contacting area of the second housing to thereceiving projecting parts is small; therefore, smooth turningoperations of the first housing and the second housing can bemaintained.

In the invention according to claim 13, plural receiving projectingparts are separately provided in the circumferential direction of theouter circumferential edge of the first housing, thereby, even if forcetoward the first housing side is applied to the second housing in theclose state, a resistance to the said force is large: the operations ofthe operation keys not intended by the user can be prevented.

INDUSTRIAL UTILIZATION

A portable terminal device according to the present invention will beapplied to a portable wireless telephone set in which a first housingand a second housing are connected via a hinge shaft in turnable to theshaftwise direction of the said hinge shaft.

1. A portable terminal device comprising: a tilt angle support to hold asloped portion of a first housing and a sloped portion of a secondhousing at a predetermined angle with respect to one another, the tiltangle support including: a base attached to the first housing and bentto have a supporting portion substantially aligned with the firsthousing sloped portion; and a hinge part having a planar piece attachedto the second housing and substantially aligned with the second housingsloped portion, and having a shaft part rotatable in the base, wherein:if said first housing or said second housing is turned by said hingepart from a close state where said first housing and said second housingare overlapped with each other and an operating part surface having saidoperating part and a display part surface having said display part arefacing to the same direction, to an open state where said display partsurface and said operating part surface are opened at the predeterminedangle.
 2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, whereinsaid second housing has a suboperating part having predetermined keys onthe same surface as said display part surface.
 3. The portable terminaldevice according to claim 1, wherein said second housing has a speakerpart at the other end part of said second housing, and said one end partis formed so as to be thinner as the position is further from saidspeaker part.
 4. The portable terminal device according to claim 1,wherein said angle formed by said display part surface and saidoperating part surface in said open state is less than 180°.
 5. Theportable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein in said closestate, a concave part opened to the second housing side is formed atleast at a part of said operating part surface of said first housing. 6.The portable terminal device according to claim 5, wherein: said concavepart is formed in an almost spherical shape at said one end part of saidfirst housing; and in said close state, a projecting part in an almostspherical shape facing to said concave part is provided at said one endpart of said second housing.
 7. The portable terminal device accordingto claim 5, wherein: said concave part is formed in an almost sphericalshape at a part other than said one end part of said first housing; andin said close state, a projecting part in an almost spherical shapefacing to said concave part is provided at a part other than said oneend part of said second housing.
 8. The portable terminal deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein at least at a part of an outercircumferential edge of said operating part surface of said firsthousing, a receiving projecting part which is projected to said secondhousing side and is abutted on or is close to said second housing insaid close state.
 9. The portable terminal device according to claim 8,wherein said receiving projecting parts are provided at edge parts ofthe both sides of said first housing.
 10. The portable terminal deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein in said close state, an end part of saidreceiving projecting part on a side facing to said second housing isformed in an almost hemispherical shape.
 11. The portable terminaldevice according to claim 8, wherein said receiving projecting part isprovided at an edge part of the other end part of said first housing.12. The portable terminal device according to claim 8, wherein: in saidreceiving projecting part, a concave part of which a surface facing tosaid second housing in said close state is formed in an almost sphericalshape is formed; and in said second housing, a projecting part in analmost spherical shape that faces to said concave part in said closestate is provided.
 13. The portable terminal device according to claim8, wherein a plurality of said receiving projecting parts are separatelyprovided in a circumferential direction of said outer circumferentialedge in said first housing.